BOSSES at Blackpool Pleasure Beach today hit back at critics who slammed the "limited heath choices" available at the top tourist attraction.
A leading holiday publication had claimed there was "considerable opportunity" to expand the amount of healthy food outlets for visitors at the park.
But Pleasure Beach chiefs have countered the claims by Which? magazine by claiming the food on of
fer is far than merely burgers and doughnuts.
They believe their selection of tasty healthy treats – which include fresh fruit, sandwich wraps and salads – compare favourably with other tourist attractions.
The park boasts an oyster bar, salad bar and a fresh fruit stall.
Beverley Hogarth, catering manager at the park, said: "The report only looked at four food units. We have got healthier options in all corners of the park. If people want to go healthy our staff know where they can.
"But it is a treat day at the park and people don't always want to go healthy."
The Pleasure Beach was among eight attractions visited by magazine researchers in April and May.
Visitors to the park gave a split verdict to the survey.
Carol Tough, 45, from Arbroath, Scotland, said: "It's mostly junk food – burgers and chips. There isn't much healthy food at the Pleasure Beach so we wait till we get back to the hotel."
Mum-of-one Katrina Buckley, 19, of Bond Street, South Shore, said she was conscious about giving her two-year-old daughter Chanyta healthy food. She said: "The Pleasure Beach could do with more healthy options. I prefer to give Chanyta healthy food like salad and pasta. They could do with making healthy food more fun for kids."
But Donna Westwood, 38, from the West Midlands, agreed there was plenty of choice at the park.
She said: "There were enough healthy options like salads – it's good to have that choice."
The magazine's survey was also based on responses from 81 per cent of 3,039 Which? Holiday members who had visited an attraction in the last 12 months.
Only 29 per cent of those who ate at leading visitor sites believed there was a good choice of food and 58 per cent believed the food on offer was not very healthy, while half said they usually took their own food.
Tate Modern in London, Alton Towers in Staffordshire and Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland were said to provide a good range of healthy alternatives while York Minister, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, St Fagans Museum in Cardiff and The Eden Project in Cornwall were told they could make improvements.
Lorna Cowan, editor of Which?, said: "We're not saying that treats should be completely out of bounds on a day out, just that suitable healthy alternatives should be more easily available for people who want them."
The full article contains 474 words and appears in Blackpool Gazette newspaper.
